


Maybe Valentine's Day isn't So Bad

by eyeless_soul



Category: Criminal Minds
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-08-21
Updated: 2013-08-21
Packaged: 2017-12-24 05:55:11
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,625
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/936188
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/eyeless_soul/pseuds/eyeless_soul
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Reid hates Valentine's Day, Morgan tries to cheer him up.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Maybe Valentine's Day isn't So Bad

**Author's Note:**

> This was for a Valentine's Day Challenge for FF.Net. 
> 
> The Prompts were:  
> A surprise, a failed blind date, chocolate covered strawberries, A Moment Like This

Garcia watched her favourite genius as he worried away at his lip with his teeth, the index finger on his left hand tapping behind his left ear. It was obvious to her that he was preoccupied with something and she was determined to find out exactly what that was. The fact was that he was being bothered, very bothered. The fact was that Valentine's Day was around the corner and if there was one meaningless holiday that ever existed, he felt that Valentine's Day was it.

It wasn't the cheap thing with hearts, the roses that smelled too much like perfume. No, it was the fact that he was never lucky with his significant others. He laughed out loud, gaining the attention of most of the people in the bullpen. He had never really had any significant others, he wasn't very good on dates. He always got nervous, he never knew what to say and he almost always made up some excuse as to why he had to leave early. It was a disaster every year was the same. So, this year he had decided that he would just skip it altogether.

But he knew that if he didn't attempt to date, then he would spend the rest of the year wondering if that day would have been the day that he would have found his supposed soul mate. Even though he didn't particularly buy into that whole one person out there for everyone, or the whole love at first sight, soul mate shit. It was just something that he did every year. But this year he was at odds with himself. In the end he decided that it would have been stupid to break his yearly tradition and even though he knew that it would end in disaster he went anyway.

The next day, for the first time since he had started working at the BAU he called in sick. Hotch had been immediately concerned. Garcia however knew her genius better than that. She knew that he had gone on his yearly date and that it probably didn't go well. That being said she had told Hotch that he had probably had a bad date and that he was using that day to pity his lost love life.

Morgan shook his head. He felt so bad, if anyone deserved to have a little luck, where his love life was concerned he was quite certain that that was Reid. He knew that Reid generally hated dating but he really tried. Morgan knew what he had to do, the only thing that he could do was go to where to Reid lived and try to cheer him up. So he gathered the files that he would need and then left the office.

He was driving to Reid's and he had no idea what he as going to say. He had no idea what kind of shape that Reid was in, all he knew was that it would be his job to make sure that by the time that he left, Spencer was either asleep or feeling just fine with the way that things had ended that day.

When he pulled into Spencer's driveway he knew that him being there was probably going to surprise and shock the young FBI agent. He knew that Spencer was a man that valued his privacy and didn't like it when people spontaneously dropped in but he had a feeling that he would welcome this visit.

He knocked on the door and was surprised when a red-eyed Spencer Reid answered the door. He hadn't been expecting anyone and after the disastrous date that he had had the night before he was in no mood too deal with anyone, which was why he had called in sick to work in the first place. He was glad that someone from work had thought to check on him and make sure that he was okay and he was thrilled that it was Morgan.

"Derek."

Derek smiled when Spencer said his name. It was slightly stuffy and it sounded almost like it had been a question instead of a statement. "Hey Reid. I heard that you had a bad day yesterday and I thought that I would come here and cheer you up." Derek's smile faltered as he saw the unsure look in his friend's eyes. "What is it?"

Spencer was biting his bottom lip. "I just don't want you to feel as though you have to see me. I'm glad that you're here but I would have been just fine had you decided not to see me at all. I'm a big boy; I can handle rejection and clean up my own messes. I don't need you here to take care of me."

Derek shook his head. "Pretty boy, that isn't what I meant and you know it. All I am here for is a shoulder to cry on or someone that will listen to you. I'm not after anything and I'm certainly not here to baby-sit you. I just know how tough bad dates can be, and I wanted to make sure that you were okay. Are you going to invite me in or are we going to spend all night out on the porch?"

Spencer stepped aside and let Derek in. Derek wasn't surprised that the apartment was small and neat, what had surprised him even less was that there were books piled everywhere. Derek sat on the couch and Spencer seemed to deflate into the nearby chair. Derek was a little worried; he had never seen Spencer like this, ever.

"Do you want to talk about what happened?" He knew from experience, that Spencer usually didn't just offer up personal information. He was like a very complicated puzzle, you had to coax the information out of him and even then you had to be very careful about how you approached certain topics.

Spencer grabbed the glass bowl that he had placed on the table when his quiet evening of sulking had been interrupted by a knock on his door. He used his long fingers; to very careful pluck a chocolate covered strawberry from the pile and then offered the bowl to Morgan. Morgan raised an eyebrow.

"I didn't even know that you liked strawberries."

Spencer swallowed. "I don't. They were giving them out for free at the restaurant as a way to celebrate Valentine's Day. I had told myself not to go on that stupid date. None of the others had panned out, I had no idea why I thought that this one was going to be any different."

Derek stared at his friend. He could feel his heart breaking. It was just the look of abject defeat and complete failure. He had went to Spencer's house with the intention of cheering his friend up and he now he wasn't sure if he could do that. Derek ate one of the strawberries and patiently waited for Reid to talk. He knew that eventually Reid would, he just had to be very patient. Spencer took a deep breath.

"We met a restaurant. I am not going to go into the details of how it was that we met. It's far too embarrassing. All I am going to say is that we met and agreed on a place to meet. The only problem is, is that when I got there she was already with someone else. She saw me standing there and shrugged. I sat at the bar and had a glass of wine, finally she walked over to the bar and told me that the man that she was having dinner with was ultimately more successful and exciting then I would ever be, Further more, she said that he looked like a man not a thirteen year old boy. I left shortly after that." Spencer let the tears of humiliation fall from his eyes; he didn't see the point of hiding them.

Derek got up and kneeled in front of the chair that Reid was currently trying to hide in. "I don't know where she got her information from. What I do know is that there are certain things that you aren't and one of them is boring. You are part of one of the top teams in the country, and there is no one I know that is more intelligent then you." He carefully laid his hand on top of Spencer's and used his other to wipe away the tears. "Sooner or later you will find your perfect match."

"Thank you. You have no idea how much that means to me." His reply had been barely audible. It was at that point that his radio kicked on.

" _I have a late Valentine's day request. This is for my very good friends Derek and Spencer. I'd like the song A Moment Like This."_

Spencer and Derek looked at each other completely mortified as the song started. They both recognized the voice of the speaker, one way or another she had known, Garcia had known that Spencer would need some cheering up. Spencer just burst into gales of laughter and a few minutes later so did Derek.

As soon as their laughing spell died down, Spencer looked at Derek. "I know that this is incredibly corny and that this would make a great ending to one of those romantic comedies that J.J. always raves about but we should definitely do this again next year."

Derek shook his head. "Pretty boy, you're thinking too far ahead. Instead of next year, how about we get together tomorrow." Derek held his breath.

Spencer smiled. "I'd like that." He thought to himself that maybe Valentine's Day wasn't half as bad as what he thought it was.


End file.
